Changing From Within

Why business owners make questionable decisions – and how to improve in just minutes

Get your free, complimentary motivational profile – read on

As the recession continues in the UK, two things are certain: more weak businesses will disappear; and many business owners will continue to make questionable decisions.

Tough financial times bring a pressure to make the right decision quickly. And that's not always a good thing.

Because decisions made under pressure, without standing back and thinking things though, can often be bad ones.

A recent survey of 200 business people in the UK revealed that a large percentage of senior management – 70 per cent in fact – admits they have little or no experience in dealing with the current economic problems.

Yet they're going to be under pressure to make fast decisions. Inexperience plus pressure equals stress – and often bad decisions.

Imagine a business owner who is watching revenues as their business struggles for survival, and knows they must make cuts. If they have enjoyed a degree of business success during the good times they are probably going to make decisions out of fear.

Their first mistake might be to decide to take swift action and hack away at supplier costs. Valuable relationships that have taken years to build up can be damaged in days.

Next they might consider a round of redundancies to be a sensible course to lower costs further. Instead of standing back, visualising where the business might be in three years time taking this different path and working out what resources will be needed, they instead listen to where their gut feel says the cuts should be made.

This is how the employee who "never really fitted in" gets the chop, no matter what the quality of their work is. It's a decision that makes the business owner feel better inside (they have taken action and got rid of someone they never liked), but actually this is a questionable decision made for the wrong reasons. And it's going to affect the business.

Business owners rely on a number of factors to make their decisions. These can include past experience of decisions that went well; their prejudice towards a situation, and ignoring data that contradicts a decision that is already starting to form in their mind.

But one of the key elements to making the right decision is to understand the most important piece of the decision making process.

It's not the information available or the range of options open. The most important thing is the person making the decision: you.

Because your decision making is influenced by your emotional state – the thing which pushes you through each day.

It is already clear that you are a driven, focused individual. If you weren't you wouldn't be a member of a website such as Million Impossible. You are already leagues ahead of "ordinary" people.

And that means you have an opportunity that most don't. You can learn about why you make good or bad decisions, and use that knowledge to speed up your personal development in a leadership role.

The Enneagram – follow the link

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The key is to find out what your core motivational drivers are, and then explore them to understand why you behave in a specific way.

Have you ever noticed that things seem to happen the same way time and time again?

That's because of you. Because, whether you are aware of it or not, how you influence events depends upon your level of emotional intelligence at any given time

And it means that if you want something to change, you can't just change the decisions you make... you have to control the way you feel; acknowledge this and ensure that you are in a healthy emotional frame when you make decisions.

Once you understand how you feel and what really motivates you (and I'm not talking money here, I mean core drivers that unconsciously control your decision making processes) you will recognise when you are making decisions from an unhealthy perspective.

It also means that when you behave in a way that leads to success, you can be more aware of it, and encourage that behaviour in the future. That sounds like a blueprint for success to me.

So, thanks to a bit of arm twisting from Million Impossible, I've got a free offer for every subscriber.

You can get a free Enneagram profile right now at no cost to yourself.

Click this www.developingcoachingcultures.com/enneagramprofiling.htm to access the powerful Enneagram profiling which we use to support our in– company and training events plus executive coaching.

There are a series of questions to answer which will take about 25 minutes. It's recommended you do it somewhere quiet where you won't have interruptions.

The purpose of the Enneagram is to work out what motivational profile you have. There are nine basic types, and while there will be a little of each type in you, there will be one in particular that dominates your personality.

Finding out what kind of person you are is nothing to be scared of. In fact you should welcome it because it will help you understand why you behave the way you do in different circumstances. It will also show you how you relate to those closest to you, including your partner, family and the team you work with.

Once you have completed your Enneagram, you will be emailed the results, together with some recommendations to help you improve your decision making.

Smart business owners get full information about the most important factors that affect their important decisions. Here's your chance to do it right now for free, and start making a significant difference to your business today.

If you haven't already done it, visit the Changing From Within website. Make the right decision now to make better decisions in the future.

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Contact Julia Pullen
T: 0845 468 1409
M: 07866 843451
E: julia@changingfromwithin.co.uk
W: www.changingfromwithin.co.uk